Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "stede-bonnet"

Timeless Treasure by MaryLu Tyndall

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Her family has long been cursed. Her father is the latest to be incarcerated, but he abandoned her when she was six months old and now that her mother has passed, Lexie Cain is alone, penniless, and homeless. Her mother’s legacy – a gold coin and 300-year-old letters signed by Stede Bonnet – offers her a slim hope. According to her mother, the pirate is a distant relative and pirates buried their treasure, didn’t they? With no other options open to her, Lexie heads to Charleston, South Carolina, hoping the etchings on the coin and clues in the letters will lead her to the trove.

Although his beloved son died in 1712 and four years have passed, Stede Bonnet is still haunted and tormented by the loss. He has a wife, other children, wealth, and a good reputation, but Barbados is more a prison than a home. His only saving grace is the love of his life, Melody Rogers, but she is not his wife and must now accompany her father to Charles Town where he will endeavor to save the souls of the pirates and other scoundrels living there. Stede’s only option is to leave his life behind and go on the account. Perhaps plundering will gain him a new fortune on which he and Melody can live one day soon. To that end, he builds a pirate ship, hires a crew, and sets sail. But he is a soldier, not a sailor, and gaining the crew’s respect proves a difficult and perilous task.

Barret Johnson, a handsome history professor at Charleston Southern University, feels truly blessed. He has a family, comes from money, has a job, and is working on a new book about Stede Bonnet that might garner him an award that will allow him to continue his research on South Carolina pirates. The woman with a tattoo who barges into his office irritates him. He doesn’t believe a word Lexie says, but if there’s even a slim chance that the letter she shows him is authentic, he must pursue this new avenue of research.

Lexie thinks Barret is arrogant and the less contact she has with him, the better – but she needs his help to understand her ancestor’s writings. No one else knows as much as he does about Bonnet, but Barret is not the only one interested in the letters. Someone is stalking her. Then someone breaks into her apartment. Barret comes to her rescue, and the more time he’s with her, the more of an enigma she becomes. She has so little, but goes out of her way to help others even less fortunate than herself. He’s determined to protect her, even when her stalker proves that he is willing to do anything and harm anyone, especially those closest to her, to get the letters and the coin.

This inspirational romance will captivate readers with its two parallel love stories. One takes place in present-day Charleston, the other in the past. The outcomes differ, but Tyndall deftly contrasts the differences between those who have and those who have not. She does an excellent job portraying Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet, weaving a plausible tale that fills in the blanks that history has left of their association. Bonnet may be an ineffective pirate and not necessarily likeable, but readers will sympathize with his predicament. Lexie’s and Barret’s emotional struggles pull at the heartstrings in a deftly woven love story that will become a cherished favorite.



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The Life and Tryals of the Gentleman Pirate, Major Stede Bonnet by Jeremy R. Moss

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


We think of him as a failure. A man who lurks in the shadows of a stronger personality. A man who squanders his slim chance of evading the hangman’s noose by escaping. Yet none of this is why he engages those interested in pirate history. What intrigues them is the why. What compels a successful and well-respected gentleman to jettison family, friends, position, and wealth to pursue a life of crime?

He was a member of the elite of Barbados. He inherited a vast plantation. He married well and had four children. He even served as a justice of the peace. Like most people, he carried emotional baggage, some of which stretched back to his childhood, and it impacted this “ideal” life. So much so that one day, he purchased a sloop, fitted it out as a pirate ship, hired a crew, and went on the account. His name was Major Stede Bonnet. But he was a landsman, one who possessed little knowledge of sailing – a fact that would earn him no respect from those who served under him. A near-fatal misstep eventually led him to cross paths with a much-feared pirate who was a legend in his own time – Blackbeard.

Within the pages of this book, Moss shines a light on Bonnet from birth to death. Although he provides no definitive answer as to why this gentleman went on the account – Bonnet took that answer to the grave – Moss does share several hypotheses on this question. Along the way, he allows readers to see “the man behind the mask,” so to speak. For example, while we might deem Bonnet the least successful of pirates, his actual ill-gotten booty would equate to between five and six million dollars today.

The book is divided into two parts: The Life of Stede Bonnet and Bonnet’s Trial and Its Aftermath. Moss consulted many primary documents, some of which he quotes at great length within these pages. Where scant information is known, he fills in gaps with particulars from Captain Johnson’s A General History of the Pyrates. (Although a secondary source, much of the material on Bonnet can be confirmed from contemporary original sources.) In addition to the pertinent quotations that begin each chapter, Moss includes five appendices and actual transcripts of the trials. There is no index or a bibliography containing full citations of works consulted, although footnotes do identify sources.

The Life and Tryals of Major Stede Bonnet is an absorbing revelation of a pirate who often gets short shrift in histories of the golden age of piracy. It serves as an excellent review of this man and his life, as well a methodical examination of imprudent choices and the resultant consequences of them.




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Buried Treasure: A Pirate Miscellany by Robert Blyth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Have you ever wondered about when pirates first put to sea? Or what is appropriate pirate behavior? Or where pirates hang out, or what places they stay as far away from as possible? These are but a few of many questions that Buried Treasure answers as you explore “the murky and murderous world of pirates.” As you sail along, you also learn about piratical facts and those pesky myths that keep getting mixed up with the truth. Of equal importance, from a pirate perspective, is why the writers chose to name this book Buried Treasure when pirates are notorious for spending their loot as soon as they steal it.

Here's a list of the book’s main sections:
When Did Piracy Begin?
Rules Is Rules
Captain Johnson’s Pirate Phrases
What Did Pirates Look Like?
Piratical and Anti-Piratical Places
Pirate Ships
The Jolly Roger
Pirates in Fiction
Was Francis Drake a Pirate?
Christopher Myngs and the Art of Getting Away With It
Pirate Treasure (Not Buried)
Pirate Pardons
Risk Analysis: Would You Become a Pirate?

Joining you on this venture is Polly Roger. She’s a pirate parrot who’s familiar with all the proper lingo any self-respecting pirate uses. She provides mini-lessons to help increase your piratical vocabulary. There’s even information about a pirate’s favorite holiday, International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

There are illustrations, newspaper headlines – fictional but based on actual news clippings of the past – boxed historical facts and media morsels, and biographical highlights of notorious pirates. Among those highlighted within these pages are William Kidd, Bartholomew Roberts, Henry Every, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, Zheng Yi Sao, Henry Morgan, Edward Teach (Blackbeard), Stede Bonnet, Black Caesar, and Edward Low.

Buried Treasure is by no means a complete history. A fair amount is omitted, but that’s why other book titles are suggested. After all, this is a lighthearted introduction crammed with lots to pique a reader’s curiosity. Pirates young and old will enjoy this book, and even those who think they know a treasure chest full of piratical truths and falsehoods will find undiscovered gems. (I certainly did, and I’ve been reading and learning about pirates for a quarter of a century.)

For those who like challenges, I dare you to say Polly Roger’s piratical tongue twister three times fast. She also has one final thought to share. You are sure to enjoy this morsel of piratical humor as well.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Blyth.html)



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